RFU chiefs in warning to Woodward
WORLD CUP winning former England boss Sir Clive Woodward has been warned he will have to relinquish his current role with the British Olympic Association if he wants the controversial job of performance director at the Rugby Football Union.
Woodward is back in the frame for a return to Twickenham following the sudden departure of RFU chief executive John Steele, who was ousted for his handling of the recruitment process on Friday.
But with London 2012 so close his BOA role is entering a critical phase, and RFU chairman Martyn Thomas insists they need someone to start this year on a strictly full-time basis.
“I don’t believe we can have a situation where a part-timer is doing the job, even if he was to come at a later stage. That for me would not be an answer,” Thomas said. “We need a man who has a skill set that is 100 per cent committed to putting England back where they need to be. The RFU job is a full-time job. We have already lost a lot of time.”
Woodward appeared to rule himself out of the running last month, saying he would be staying on as director of sport and deputy chef de mission at the BOA despite holding “informal conversations” with the RFU. That followed confusion over whether the role would involve supervision of the senior national team, after the RFU changed the job description fundamentally twice in 48 hours.
The feeling is that Steele’s exit could open the door for Woodward to make a U-turn of his own, and Thomas added: “Clive knows my telephone number and I would happily speak to him.”